- Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion to start your day informed.
In Mississippi
1. Seafood labeling law goes into effect July 1
Beginning July 1, all seafood and crawfish sold in Mississippi must be clearly labeled as either imported or domestic. This is a result of House Bill 602 passed this legislative session and signed into law by Governor Tate Reeves.
The Mississippi Department of Agriculture said Tuesday that oversight and enforcement of the new labeling requirements will be jointly managed by their agency and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.
Starting July 1, each agency will begin inspecting businesses across the state to ensure compliance. Both MDMR and MDAC will also provide outreach and educational resources to support businesses as they adapt to the new requirements.
2. North Mississippi Health Services terminates agreement with United Healthcare Medicare Advantage
As WCBI reports, “North Mississippi Health Services facilities and providers have terminated agreements with United Healthcare Medicare Advantage and Medicaid Dual Special Needs Medicare Advantage Plans.”
“As of June 1, NMHS facilities and providers are out-of-network for all United Healthcare Medicare Advantage PPO and HMO plans,” WCBI reported. “North Mississippi will continue to schedule services for the PPO plans that do offer out-of-network benefits, but United Healthcare Medicare Advantage plans do not offer out-of-network benefits for HMO plans, except in some cases of emergency or ongoing care, such as cancer treatments and dialysis.
WCBI added, “NMHS remains in-network for commercial/employee-sponsored plans, including UMR plans, UHC Federal Marketplace plans, UHC MS CAN, and CHIP plans.”
National News & Foreign Policy
1. More cities brace for protests this week
The New York Times reports that cities across the United States “were bracing for a new round of immigration protests on Wednesday after the Los Angeles mayor imposed an overnight curfew downtown and Gov. Gavin Newsom of California blamed President Trump for unrest that began with deportation raids last week.”
“More protests were planned in several cities on Wednesday, including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Minneapolis, San Antonio and Seattle,” NYT reported. “Some organizers said that local demonstrations this week were a prelude to nationwide ones planned for Saturday against President Trump and an unusual military parade in Washington, D.C.”
NYT continued, “Mr. Trump warned on Tuesday that any demonstrators who assembled during the parade would ‘be met with very big force,’ without elaborating. A U.S. official later told The New York Times that discussions were taking place inside the Trump administration, including at the Pentagon, about deploying National Guard or active-duty troops to cities beyond Los Angeles.”
2. Musk says his posts about Trump “went too far”
The Hill reports that Elon Musk “is voicing regret for his public feud with President Trump, days after an explosive set of public attacks shattered the pair’s close alliance.”
“I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far,” Musk wrote in an early morning post on his social media platform X on Wednesday, as reported by The Hill.
The Hill went on to report, “Musk’s comments represent the tech mogul’s clearest effort yet to smooth over tensions after a blowup that upended months of close coordination between the world’s richest man and the world’s most powerful leader.”
Sports
1. JSU’s Taylor named Black College Football Coach of the Year
Jackson State Athletics is celebrating their head football coach T.C. Taylor as he was honored at the Black College Football Hall of Fame on Saturday following the 2024 national championship season.
Taylor was named the Black College Football Coach of the Year after leading Jackson State to a 12-2 record and the nation’s longest current winning streak at 10. He led the Tigers to the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) East Division crown and the SWAC Championship before winning the school’s first Cricket Celebration Bowl on its way to a national title.
The second-year head coach was named to the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year list as the top FCS coach, while amassing a 19-7 overall record in his time at the helm of Jackson State.
2. William Carey Athletics earn Top 5 spot in NAIA
William Carey University’s Athletic Department has been recognized as one of the Top 5 athletic departments in the NAIA for the 2024-2025 season.
For the second year in a row, WCU posted a Top 5 finish in the Learfield Cup Standings for the NAIA division. This comes on the heels of being named the top athletic program in the Southern States Athletic Conference for the ninth consecutive year.
This is the fourth top 5 finish for the Crusaders, paired with last year’s 5th place finish. The highest finish for WCU came in 2018-2019 when Carey finished second overall in the Learfield standings.
Markets & Business
1. U.S., China reach consensus on trade
CNBC reports that U.S. and Chinese officials “reached a consensus on trade after a second day of talks in London.”
“U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will return to Washington to ‘make sure President Trump approves’ the framework,” CNBC reported. “As part of the framework, China would approve the exports of rare earth minerals. Meanwhile, the U.S. would roll back sales restrictions of advanced tech goods to China.”
CNBC noted, “The discussions are a key focus for investors that remain jittery toward any jolts on trade policy. Both China and the U.S. previously agreed to temporarily lower high tariffs on one another in May, although a fully ironed-out agreement has yet to materialize.”
2. Rebooting nuclear power in the U.S.
The Wall Street Journal reports that “AI and competition with China are pushing startups to reinvent atomic energy, backed by unprecedented private capital and enthusiasm from the Trump administration.”
“Building advanced AI systems will take city-sized amounts of power and a low-carbon energy source such as nuclear is the preferred choice. Microsoft, Meta and other tech giants are putting big money into revitalizing reactors that are decades old, and sometimes even being decommissioned,” WSJ reported. “But Big Tech and venture-capital money is also being steered into new modular reactors designed with safety considerations informed by over a half-century of nuclear mishaps.”
WSJ went on to report, “The Defense Department wants the small reactors to power its ships and bases, and to deploy in the Arctic region and on remote islands in the Pacific. The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit this spring announced eight companies were in line for awards to work with the Army and Air Force to install microreactors on military bases.”
Magnolia Tribune
